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From LANclub.com Game Reviews Thinking back over all of the video games I've played over the years, there are many that stood out in my mind as all time favs. These are games that I played more or less religiously from the moment I laid hands on them, in some cases devoting months if not years of play time to them. So here they are in chronological order:
Super Mario Brothers 3, Nintendo, 1989- Making its first debut in the final showdown of the 1989 "movie" The Wizard Super Mario Brothers 3 turned out to be the highest selling video game of its day, weighing in at a beefy 25 million copies. I have many childhood memories of sitting on my best-friends living room carpet, in a neon green t-shirt, drinking Pepsi and playing SMB3 until all hours of the night (that would be 730pm for a nine year old). It amazes me even to this day that I can still get to level 8 in about 15 minutes (yes, with the use of whistles), and how even with all of our fully 3d rendered game environments the 2d world of Mario is still just as appealing. Oh how I miss the old days, back when I all I had to worry about was whether or not the girl down the street was going to beat me up and take my lunch money, and if my mom was going to find out that Id been drinking Pepsi.
Wing Commander, Origin, 1994- For some reason whenever I ask someone "Hey, do you remember Wing Commander?" they look at me for a few minutes, ask if I’m a big Freddie Prinze Jr fan, a fist-fight ensues, and then the next thing I know I’m calling my wife from "County" telling her where my stash of bail money is. Originally released in 1990 by Origin the WC series put players behind the stick of gun blazin', missle poppin', afterburner....burnin?...space fighters to go to war with the cat-like (literally) Kilrathi. The plot was simple to follow (aliens are coming to kill you, you'd better kill them first) but it threw in a twist in every once in a while, and in the later games (Wing Commander 3+) the way you interacted with the NPC's in the game affected the outcome of the storyline...kind of. I played this game almost religiously for the entire summer between 7th and 8th grade and thinking back if I had I gone outside more often instead I may have met more girls.....you're right, probably not.
Wolf3D, id Software, 1992- Before the release of Wolfenstein 3D by id Software in 1992 PC games had a much smaller piece of the video game industry pie. Offering ground breaking graphics and game play changes (funny that it's now available on the PalmOS) Wolf3D made game history with its "full" 3D environments, horrific gore levels, and the ability to give Hitler a first class beat-down. The graphics were clean and well done, the control scheme was simple, and the premise was infallible (who wouldn’t want to kill Nazi's?). I remember when I installed the share-ware version of Wolf3D and for the first time experienced the Nazi splattering power of the chain gun, and was stupefied by the fact that my enemie's bodies still lay on the floor covered in blood long after I had dispatched them. Overthrowing an evil empire, a walking-tank riding dictator, and mad scientists throwing yucky stuff filled syringes, everything a boy needs in his life to grow up well adjusted.
Star Wars:X-Wing Series, LucasArts, 1992- Heralded as being the best space-flight sim series of all time the X-Wing series to this day is still a personal favorite. The series first started in 1992 with the release of X-Wing by LucasArts and was later followed by over 10 new games/add-ons. Offering not only cutting-edge graphics for its time, Xwing also brought robust game play and one of the first interactive environment game menus to the table. X-Wing Versus Tie-Fighter is actually the first game I ever played against Drat online. I was told at the time by my brother-in-law (Esrohkrad), that I should let him win a few rounds or he'd get frustrated and stop playing. Obviously I ignored the warning, threw Drat a beat down, and he hasn't stopped playing...yet anyway. Funny to think about that giving someone a sound thrashing can eventually make you friends/clan partners.
Doom I&II, id Software, 1994- If Wolf3D started a push towards video game superiority on the PC, Doom I&II came at it with a bulldozer. Probably the most recognized, and most widely known PC game ever created, Doom gave the entire gaming industry, and more specifically first person shooters, a new level with which to base itself on. No longer would FPS players have only a few weapons at their disposal, they would instead be given a small arsenal of destructive tools with which to wreak havoc on their enemies. Detailed levels, enemies, and open environments would replace slugging it out with pixilated bad guys in cramped hallways. At long last the ability to wage war against your friends over a phone line became widely available, and people flocked to the carnage like fat people to discount night at the local buffet. Although I played Doom like a maniac on single player, it was unfortunately before my time as far modem connections went, so I never really got into multi, which is a sin against sinning, I know.
Duke Nukem 3D, 3D Realms, 1996- Doom could easily be described as the most famous video game ever made, but Duke Nukem 3D is definitely the most INfamous video game ever made. Released in early 1996 by 3D Realms, Duke Nukem quickly ascended to legendary status in the video game industry with its big guns, hot chicks, and a main character whose dialogue was "inspired" by such philosophical genius' as Ash from Army Of Darkness and Nada from They Live. Interactive environments, hilarious scripted sequences and cool, original weapons added to an already solid game story line and premise. Radio detonated pipe bombs could be planted at one end of the map and set off at the other. A "Shrink Gun" could downsize your adversaries to just the right size for boot crushing, and running into a scene straight out of several classic action movies was common happening. My first online multiplayer experience was with Duke3D's modem to modem setup. Playing 1on1 against my next door neighbor, on our blisteringly fast 33.6k modems, we'd frag eachother for hours on end until our parents found out we were tying up the phone lines, then the hurting started.
Super Mario 64, Nintendo, 1996- One of the very few actually entertaining Nintendo 64 games, Super Mario 64 at long last brought the world of Mario to its full 3D glory in 1996, for some reason however, Luigi was nowhere to be found. SM64 was an incredibly fun game to play, it had huge 3D worlds, hordes of cartoonish, bubble-looking enemies and a big dinosaur that you killed by grabbing his tail and throwing him into spikey mine doodads. My only question about this game is what happened to Luigi? Did he and Mario have a falling out? Was Luigi tired of seeing Mario make it with the Princess at the end of every game and never getting his own? In order to get the facts of the case I kidnapped, and then systematically interogated, the little pip-squeak Toad. After only 2 weeks of interrogation Toad sung like a fat lady, he told me everything I wanted to know. He told me about his secret love affair with Bowser's daughter, the fact that he had let the air out of Donkey Kong's tires in Super Mario Kart on four seperate occasions, and most importantly, he told me that Luigi actually WAS in SM64, except that he had taken on a new character role as this guy, which must've taken hours of make-up. © Copyright 2003 by LANclub.com |
